The present invention refers to a digging apparatus applicable to a bucket loader, e.g. a tractor loader and of the type used for smaller digging work, such as trenching and e.g. in agriculture, park management or the like.
Such an apparatus must be so easy to mount on the loader that mounting and dismounting can be accomplished in short time and by a single machine operator. The apparatus should furthermore be light and flexible at the same time as it has great working range and mobility. It is of course also desirable that the apparatus is inexpensive and wear resistant.
Older apparatuses of this kind have commonly fulfilled only one or some of these requirements, whereas all requirements have to be fulfilled for making an apparatus, which is useful under intended conditions, which does not occupy the loader for unnecessary long time, and which is simultaneously flexible, robust and inexpensive.
Apparatuses of this type have lately been disigned, which incorporate a connecting device intended to be attached to said bucket loader and with a pivot axle connected thereto and extending mainly perpendicularly to the extension of the digging beam, which is pivotably supported about the pivot axle and has an overhead stay bar and a bucket attached to the free end thereof, which bucket is operable via a driving device, and having at least one hydraulic piston adapted to bring about the swinging of the digging beam about the pivot axle and arranged to transfer pivot force to the digging beam at a short distance from the pivot axle, and these apparatuses have fulfilled several of the above requirements.
A drawback with these known devices is that they have very rigid and unflexible digging beams and it is therefore commonly possible to apply them at one type of loader only, at the same time as the digging beam in practise lacks ability of adaption to different digging conditions and positions.